Production of bioemulsifier by <i style="">Acinetobacter</i> species isolated from healthy human skin

Abstract

Six <i style="">Acinetobacter</i> sp. isolated from healthy human skin were checked for the production of bioemulsifier. Optimization studies indicated that Luria Bertani broth <i>p</i>H 7 supplemented with calcium chloride (1%) was the optimum medium. Temperature at 37°C was optimum and inducer oils in the medium did not enhance bioemulsifier production. Partial purification of bioemulsifier and chemical analysis revealed that it is a proteoglycan with protein (53%), polysaccharide (43%) and lipid (2%). Maximum emulsification activity obtained was 400 EU/ml. Thin layer chromatography revealed the presence of mannose and rhamnose sugar and oleic and palmitic acids as parts of lipids. The yield obtained was 1.9 g / l. Reconstitution studies revealed that the protein and polysaccharide fractions together display 94.55% of emulsification activity. It was also noted that the bioemulsifier was stable for 72 hr at 37°C and displayed good cleaning property towards different oils. The partially purified bioemulsifier formed stable oil-in-water emulsions with plant oils.